Thank me no Thankings, nor Proud me no Prouds
by profet
Summary: Hermione's boyfriend, Victor Krum, becomes a death eater, but Voldemort decides that he must kill Hermione. but what happens when she isnt killed, and what happens when Voldemort's weakness is accedentily discovered? DHr
1. chapter 1

Thank Me No Thankings, Nor Proud me No Prouds. 

The building in which the 21 men were now present was broken, the walls were cracking and the door frames and foundation looked ready to give. The house was dead. Quite the opposite of the man talking. He was quite alive, even if his face did not show it, his eyes did. They were red the color of fresh blood. They searched, knowing everything about the men surrounding him. They inspired fear into even the strongest of wizards. They were the eyes that saw everything and felt almost nothing. What they did feel were emotions intensified to their purest form. Weather they were showing anger, malice, disappointment, or joy each emotion was raw and always produced the same result…pain.

He was the only one sitting. He wore black just like the others, except his hood did not hide the hideousness of his face. His hands were folded into a point emphasizing his power. The men around him were silent, heads bowed is an obedient trace. They were waiting, waiting for their lord and master to command them. Waiting for Voldemort to point a solitary finger at one of them and reveal their wrongs.

"SHAW!" He spat the name out like he were drinking poison. His first finger raised and pointed at the form of a tall hooded man. "Step forward and show yourself." Henry Shaw did as he was told. He knew what he had done and knew what he would now have to do. He bowed lower then necessary whispering, "My Lord…I did not know." The panic in his voice shown, the fear apparent on his face.

" FOOL! You knew my full intention and the potential it had. You knew where I was heading. And yet you failed. Weakness is a trait I am not willing to tolerate!"

Shaw closed his eyes tightly. The kind of gesture that to any normal person would have looked honorable, but it was not. Henry Shaw was a promenade Death Eater. He was born into a family of wealth and dark arts. The Shaws had planned Henry's life long before he could live it. He had followed the path laid before him, but he was not the kind of man that one would want to trust with their life. He was easily tempted and selfish. He cared more about his own skin then the skin of his lord. He was not clever and lacked skill and wit. The only trait that had won him his position, besides family ties, was his thirst for power. He hungered for it , just as many others did, but his will for it had no bounds like some. He was willing to turn over, or give, powerful men anything if he were rewarded power in turn. And that is what he had done , or tried to do.

"Do you believe to be better then myself?" The dark lord was asking questions that he already knew the answers to. "I would never dream such a thing Master," Shaw was lying. He did think that he was better then Lord Voldemort. He thought that he should have all of the power that flowed through the evil wizard. And Voldemort new it. "You should not lie to those who posses more _power _then you." Voldemort made sure to emphasis certain words, waiting for their reactions. And sure enough, subtle as it may have been ,Shaw flinched. It was all that Voldemort need, that twitch of his eye had been the trigger Voldemort was waiting for. "Avada- Kedavra!" Shaw's eyes flew open.

The red eyed wizard had not even left his chair as he took the other man's life. But the power that emanated from him saying that curse sent chills down the spine of all the hooded death eaters present.

As a small scream squeezed through Henry Shaw's lips and he fell to the floor in a messy heap. The thud of his body made a pair of smirking gray eyes finally open.

"Wormtail? The list ." Voldemort was motioning to a small, round ,balding man to his left. The man scuttled over to his master on his knees and handed him a piece of parchment scribbled with exactly 103 names on it. "Aww…It is not time for new members to be welcomed but I have a request for a private an immediate initiation." He took his wand and circled the name halfway down the sheet, " And seeing the man's past I feel inclined to accommodate towards him…next week dear gentleman, we initiate… famous Victor Krum."

At the sound of Krum's name, young Draco Malfoy had to stifle a grunt of disgust. He was not sure why but he never really warmed up to the man. Victor Krum had attended Durmstrang and apparently flourished in the dark arts. But there was always something about him that pissed Draco off. Perhaps it was the fact that he was dating a dirty mudblood.


	2. chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: most sadly do not own any of these character but the story is all mine**_

_**Rating: PG-13 but she is going to change**_

_**Summery: aww the golden trio…such friends. Plus krum cancells**_

Chapter 2

The Griffindoor common room's fire was cracklings cheerfully and spreading its warmth through out the entire room. It was late, almost 12:30 and only three students remained awake. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were sitting in the 3 chair closest to the fire.

"Honestly Hermione, what do you see in him?"

" Ron, please don't start again."

"Is it cause he's famous?…that's it huh your feeding off of his fame!"

At this Hermione shot a glance at Ron that made Harry growl. Hermione was quickly losing her temper.

"How dare you say a thing like that! You know perfectly well that his being a quititch player has nothing to do with the reason why I like him!"

"FAME MOOTCHER!!!!" It was times like this that Harry was able to really see the reasons why he loved his two best friends so much. They just cared for the other with such passion, Harry thought while handing Hermione a pillow, "Madam, your sword," a wicked grin spread across Hermione's face.

"Hey!!…NO!!" Those were the only words Ron was able to yell before Hermione had him pinned on the floor with her hand over his mouth. " Say your sorry Ron." Hermione said in her cutest voice.

"YOUR TORTURE DOSEN'T PHASE ME…NEVER!" Hermione frowned at Ron's reply, but smiled at seeing how much Harry was enjoying this. He was now curled up on the couch press a pillow to his own mouth trying to control his fits of laughter.

"To late Mr. Weasley." Hermione said in her best "terminator" voice. She then processed to beat him vigorously, pounding him with the crimson pillow Harry had armed her with. "TAKE IT BACK RON!" Hermione was yelling these words over and over again while Ron turned the deepest shade of red ever.

With a resounding _thump_ Harry fell off the coach and landed and the floor. The noise caused Hermione to stopped her beatings and see what was going on. Harry was still laughing , her hesitation though, had allowed Ron to grab her pillow and throws it out of her reach. " I will never surrender," Ron whispered while trying to get a hold of his breath. Hermione smiled… and then punched him in arm, "Oooo Hatch is here!"

Hermione got off Ron and ran to the window which had a simple barn owl tapping at it. " Did you bring me a letter?" She untied the string holding the parchment. "Thanks boy." Hatch, Victor's owl, flew to the fire and began to peck at a piece of wood sitting by it . She opened the letter , "Please read it aloud…I so desperately love to hear the words he puts down on page…they are always so …short," Ron cooed sweetly, he always found it entertaining to make fun how literate Krum really was.

"Shod off Ronald" Hermione hated how he was always insulted Krum at every possible chance he got. So she walked to the window and read her letter to her self:

_Dear Hermione, _

_I must apologize but I will not be able to make our date at Hogsmeade this weekend. I have an appointment that I must attend and am unable to cancel. I miss you and will make it up to you ._

_Yours, Victor _

Hermione frowned but scribbled a little reply and set Hatch back out into the cold weather.

"Hermione are you ok?" Harry walked over to her and read the letter that was now sitting on the table. "It's ok Herm me and Ron will take you to Honey Dukes." To Hermione's surprise and relief Ron didn't make fun of her, instead he just smiled and nodded.

"I'm going to bed. See you two in the morning. Goodnight." with a quick smile back Hermione headed up stairs she suddenly felt quite tired.

(A/N) Thanks for reading and please review I want to know what you think…thanks slyswn28 you were my first ever reviewer thanks I love you …and thanks Gen you showed me the light..hehe


	3. chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: sadly none of the characters are mine but the story is all me**_

_**Rating: R…(oh I know how daring of me)**_

_**Summery: Krum goes to his initiation, Hermione relies what she likes in Krum (or doesn't like) ends in a twist hehe and the death …yhey **_

_**(A/N): thanks so much for reading this is my first so thanks for also reviewing. I am most definitely on break so I hope to update at least every other day maybe more. I really hope that you are enjoying the story b/c I personally am enjoying myself . I think that I have become obsessed with it. **_

Chapter 3

It had been a rather sleepless night for Hermione. She was unable to keep her mind from wondering. Every time she was about to finally drift off another idea would pop into her head. And as a result she was now quite mad at Victor. She had thought a great deal about it and was now really pissed off that he was not meeting her. They had been planning to meet for almost a month and now all of a sudden he cancels on her.

"Ass," She thought to herself as she made her way into the shower. 'I'll go with Harry and Ron and probably have a better with them then I would have if he were meeting me.'

Now that Hermione was actually thinking about it Victor Krum was actually not that much fun. In fact he sort of sucked. She was standing in the steamy bathroom trying to comb through her hair when she couldn't remember anything truly extraordinary about any of their dates. 'Sure we have fun,' she thought, 'But he's no Harry or Ron…he never makes me laugh on purpose. And he definitely is not crazy, wild, and surly not spontaneous.' "Why am I with him?" She questioned out loud.

"Because dear," Her mirror told her sweetly, "You love him."

"No, I don't… and I don't think I ever will." Hermione frowned back.

The truth was that Victor was a very good listener. He would stand or sit or walk and just listen to Hermione talk. No matter what she was feeling or saying he would listen with out butting in. But the question was, did he care?

"No," She spoke aloud again. That was the truth, he didn't. While she was talking, he wasn't really listening. He would be looking her, like an animal looks at it's prey. He didn't really care about Hermione's mind or what she said ,he just liked the way she looked, he liked her body. Which by the way had become quite desirable.

"Why did I put up with him for so long?" She was staring into the mirror, and with her fore finger she wrote his name on the glass. " Because he, unlike everyone else, he actually listens to me." That was only part of it. If she had admitted it to herself sooner then actually done something about it then Ron would have won. Her staying with Victor had been her way of keeping the upper hand. She was finally facing the truth and it was making her feel slightly sick. She still liked him but maybe not as much as she had let herself think. She would have to talk to him next time she got a chance. She hoped that it would not be strange, he had even been sort of weird and different towards her lately…colder.

She cursed under her breath and went back to her room to dress for the day. She wore muggle jeans and a small blue pea coat. She dried her hair and grabbed her scarf.

"So no Krum today huh?" Ron was standing on the stair's landing waiting for her, smiling perhaps a little too brightly,

"Don't mind him, he's just being …well Ron" Harry was also wear a jacket and jeans.

"Yeah , but I think it will much more fun with you two today anyway." Hermione looked up at Harry waiting for his in-depth-one man-questioning-squad to bare its ugly teeth down on her. But he didn't, instead he just put his arm around her gently and steered her out of the portrait hole.

Victor Krum had been up since dawn and ready to support his faith. He had been planning his initiation for quite some time, and nothing was going to get in his way of becoming a death eater.

He was now standing against the wall of an old abandoned school in down town London. His body was numb from the cold of the walls and the anticipation of getting what he had always wanted…power.

Like so many before him Victor Krum had fallen captive to the strangling claws that was the thirst for power. It ate at men, it destroyed them. Few man actually achieve power. And even they are likely to be corrupted by it. Some are born unknowingly into power and left with the choices of how to use it. While others are born to power and told how to use it.

"Draco?"

"Father?" Young Malfoy answered his father in an equally if not even more so bored voice.

"What do you know of this young Krum?"

Draco Malfoy turned to look his father in the eyes. Their cold gray eyes meet. Like father, like son each pair of eyes held the capability to weld men down. Those were the eyes of wizards possessing true power. Each eye was cold and lacking all form of emotion, except the sudden out bursts of anger that raged though each so deeply. Draco took pleasure in his answer, "He dates a mudblood…would you trust him?" His voice was as cold as the walls of the death eater's meeting place.

"He what?" Lucius Malfoy was whispering, he really only whispered when the subject disgusted him till he couldn't even speak of it. "I must tell our Lord. How could he even dare to show his face after touching something so foul."

Draco was left smirking against the opposite wall from Krum, as Lucius speed off to give his 'news' to Lord Voldemort.

"Step forward Mr. Krum." Voldemort was curiously interested in him now. "Before we begin I must ask a few preliminary questions to prove your worth to serve my cause."

"Yes my Lord." Krum was now standing in front of Voldemort bowing his head and adverting his eyes.

"I have heard some _news_ that have…greatly troubled me. It has come to my attention that you are quite…_intimate_ with a mudblood. What do you say?"

Krum shifted his weight to his left leg, taken back a little by the question. "My Lord, I cannot deny that I have had a short relation with a…mudblood, but I must assure you that whatever it was, it would not be called… _intimate_ by any means. You must allow me to vouch that all of my loyalties and self belong to you and your cause that I solely wish to serve."

Voldemort enjoyed Krum's answer but thought of a way he could enjoy him self even more, " You speak so well of loyalty. I must ask you to show me that loyalty, and do me a favor. Do you think you can?"

A wicked glint was flashing in Voldemort's eyes as Krum nodded in obedience . "Kill her…For me." Krum looked up at his Lord but keep from making eye contact. "I will my Lord. Anything for you ."

The look that next came over Voldemort's features was one of raw delight. The delight that he would be forcing a man to kill someone who loved him. But Voldemort was still a little uncertain of Krum's trustworthiness. For the depths of Voldemort's black shinny robes he pulled out a dagger.

The entire dagger was no lager then a 16 inches, but each inch reeked of death. The dagger was silver and had 3 large emeralds embedded in its handle. It is strange, why only 3 when there seemed to be so much more space for jewels. But to tell the truth each jewel told a story, had a history and a past. The chilling smile on Voldemort's face was making Krum a little uneasy, but of course he did not show it.

"Use this. This dagger knows more then you will ever learn and it will allow me to see the blood of our victim. It is not that I don't trust you …but I do not trust men like yourself quite easily and killing your mudblood with this will enable me to trust the parts of you that at present I do not. Bring me back her dirty blood on the tip of this dagger." His voice and face if you can call it soft, softened. But to the untrained ear it would have seem even more evil, "Hurry back will you." Then Voldemort broke off into a short but terrifying laugh that none of the death eaters, but a select 21 laughed at. The select 21 were in fact his inner circle.

With a wicked smile that emerged as an after effect of Draco's laughing he nodded his head in a kind of "good luck" gesture towards Krum as he exited with a small, pop.

"I do not trust him my Lord." Draco was looking Voldemort straight in the eyes.

" And that is why young Malfoy you must follow him. Watch him like a hawk. I too have a feeling about him that I do not want."

Draco bowed his head in response, "My pleasure Sir." And he too left with a small pop.

Hermione, Harry and Ron were walking out of The Three Broom Sticks. The cold winter air bit at their noses and caused them to shiver and draw their scarves closer around them. The butterbeer had warmed their stomachs but the biting wind was cooling them off fast. "Where to boys?" Hermione was in a surprisingly good mood considering Ron's nonstop Krum bashing.

A firm and warm hand grabbed Hermione's shoulder, "How about the gardens?" She immediately recognized the deep voice speaking behind her as Victor's.

"What a pleasant surprise it is to see you _here ._" Ron's voice was dripping with sarcasm but being the first to speak it actually took some of the shock off Hermione seeing him outside the Hogsmeade pub.

"Well…I missed you Hermione. So I cancelled my meeting at the last minute so I could take you to the gardens…What do you think?"

"Oh that sounds perfect." Hermione was actually glad he was here. She wanted to see if he was more then she had made him out to be this morning in the shower

Harry finally spoke, "Hermione are you sure?" His eyes were very questioning as he unsuccessfully tried to read Hermione's

"Yes of course. You boys will be fine with out me." That was not what Harry had meant at all. Hermione had told both Harry and Ron her latest views of her and Victor, and to tell the truth , Harry thought that they were totally accurate. And he did not like that she had already forgotten them, and was now going off to walk alone with him. Harry kept all of that inside though as he watched Hermione walk off towards the gardens holding the arm Krum had offered her.

The gardens of Hogsmeade were beautiful. Each flower was enchanted to bloom year round and the snow that had begun to fall and speckled each petal was enchanting. Hermione gasped, "Oh it is so beautiful!"

Krum smiled while inwardly he was laughing at how naïve she really was.

As Krum and Hermione walked through the gardens looking at each other, Draco too was looking. He watched as Krum's eyes never left Hermione's body, as with his arm, Krum held on to her tightly, as Hermione talked animatedly about something Krum was not really listening to. He watched as Hermione's hair was tossed in the wind and as her cheeks turned red from the winter chill. He flowed every snow flake that landed on her.

"How long has she been like that… so… attractive. How could he kill something some beautiful, someone that can radiate beauty and light so powerfully. How could any man actually take that from her? Take her from him? She is probably the best thing ever to happen to him. And she will in turn give him that worst thing to ever happen….loneliness."

Krum had cupped Hermione's face in his hands and was rubbing her cheek with is thumb. "How could he touch her like that" Draco was utterly disgusted.

"You know what Hermione?" Krum had completely interrupted her but she let it slid on account of how beautiful it was out. Krum was sick of beginning with her, he was ready to be a death eater and having her alive was only making him wait longer to get that certain reward. "You know what … you mean so much to me Hermione you really do."

"Oh Victor…thank you." Hermione leaned in to give him a large hug. To Draco though it was making him feel slightly sick.

Krum was waiting for her to lean into him, and from his pocket he pulled out a long silver dagger. "Oh god…can he actually do it?" Draco questioned, with still no emotion in his voice. "He has no idea what the life of a death eater is. He is filled with dreams of power and wealth. As a death eater you don't have dreams. Dreams are cut off for good when he burns his mark into your flesh. Your dreams die, your thoughts die, you become a shell that he fills, he becomes you, he takes you over and whatever identity you might have had …you don't anymore. Loss of identity is just a small price that a true death eater chooses to live with. I, like the most loyal in his inner circle have chosen to give myself up and serve him"

Krum now had the dagger in one hand, raised over Hermione's head, the other was holding on to her tight. The dagger positioned, Krum hesitated …

Draco continued to speak to himself, "The only power that you get is power to cause fear. You get power I guess in the end, but not over him. You will always be under him, always ordered around by him, you become his slave." Draco noticed the hesitation…and as Krum gained his strength Draco spoke aloud, "I am no man's slave ."

As Krum brought the dagger down inches from Hermione's back, a man jumped out from behind the tree Hermione had been staring at, she pulled away from Krum the man's wand was drawn and pointed at her, "Avada- Kedavra!" The man yelled and Krum crumpled to the ground dead.

Hermione screamed. The man was wearing a hood and she was unable to see him, but that was not what she was screaming about. Lying in Krum's hand was a shinny silver dagger, "NO! Wait please!" Her voice was so desperate Draco had to stop. He pulled the cloak tighter around himself, shielding him from her eyes. "Please!" she begged, "What is this, why did he have this?" She was crying, because she already knew the answer.

Draco's voice was lack of every emotion known to man, "To kill you with" and he bent down, grabbed Krum's cloak by the neck, and with a wave of his wand both Hermione's rescuer and Krum's dead body were gone. Hermione picked up the dagger and did the only thing she thought she could, she ran.

**(A/N) so… Did you like it? Please review please! I hope that you did… Sorry that it took me so long to post this but my dad stole the computer and ran away with it. Luckily I have her back safe and sound so the updates will continue….PLEASE REVIEW!! well this goes out to my beloved Gen . I too can not believe they found us…we will get them back I swear if it's the last thing I do ( little dramatic I know but it sounded fitting at the time). **


	4. chapter 4

**Disclaimer: their not mine…sadly **

**Rating: R…so watch out **

**Summery: Krum is dead and Hermione has been saved by a death eater… but why? **

**(A/N): PLEASE REVIEW!!! sorry It took me so long it was break and my family decided to go on many a family outing…so much to my displeasure I was unable to write. Thanks so much for reading and please, please review ill love you forever **

Chapter 4

Harry and Ron had talked it over and Ron had convinced Harry that it would be a good idea to go and visit the gardens, I mean they were beautiful this time of year. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Hermione was there with Krum and that Ron totally did not trust Krum, hehe of course.

Hermione ran until she made it to the bottom of the hill leading to the Hogsmeade gardens, there she stopped. She slumped down against a tree and grabbed her knees and hugged them to her. She shook with every breath that she took in. She had let the dagger fall from her hand and it lay there on the ground innocently, she stared down at it hardly able to comprehend what had just taken place.

Harry was walking towards the hill when he saw Hermione crouched down by a tree trembling. He ran towards her. "Hermione what is it?…What happened?" His voice unsteady. Hermione shuddered at the sound of Harry's voice. He lifted up her chin so that she was looking at him, her face was ghostly white , fear was strongly printed in both her face and eyes.

Ron came running up and threw himself to the ground around Hermione. He took in her scared face and the way she crouched against the tree making herself as small as possible. Ron was always quick to jump to conclusions. "What did he do Hermione? Where is Krum?" Ron's voice was getting louder and angrier as Hermione said nothing but turned away form them both, "What the fuck did he do Hermione…I'll fucking kill the bastard if he hurt you!!" Ron had jumped to his feet, gripping his wand tightly.

Hermione just looked up at him with scared eyes, "He's dead, Ron" Her voice was low and hallow as though someone else was speaking through her. Ron froze. He had not expecting that kind of an answer.

"Hermione… Are… are you ok?" Harry's voice was deeper then usual but still strong. It surprised Hermione and she shot her head up to look at him. Harry wrapped his arms around her in a warm and comforting hug. "Please tell me Hermione." At once Hermione felt safe. Harry's voice was so pleading and so concerned. But she wasn't sure if she could actually say it out loud, if she could bring herself to tell them what happened, if she trusted herself enough to speak. "He…he… tried t…to ki…ki… kill… me." She managed to spit the words out through her stuttering. Ron gasped and Harry drew back from her a little. The look in his eyes made her finally break down. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried. Her sobbing were silent but her body shock with every tear that feel.

Harry hugged her back but the anger that was rising in him was slowly growing stronger and more violent.

Harry shot up. "Where's his body Hermione?" Harry spoke is such a slow calm manner that it was unnerving. Hermione just looked sadly up at Ron who knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. A lump had grown in Ron's throat as a question he was dreading the answer to, rose inside of him.

"Did you kill him Hermione?" Ron shielded his eyes from Hermione's. And Harry whipped around apparently, he to had been wondering the same thing.

"No"

"Who did ?" Both boys asked at the same time.

"I don't know…"she paused reluctant to speak, " But…he saved my life." Hermione's voice was still distant and faint but each boy was fully listening.

"How do you know he was killing you?"

"Because…he was holding a dagger over my back and then the man told me he was _sent_ to kill me." Her voice was strained and impatient almost angry as she told her two best friends.

She looked up at them expecting them to doubt her or do something rash.

"We have to see Dumbledore." Ron's voice was panicked and he looked from Harry to Hermione and then back at Harry again. Harry's brow was furrowed and his green emerald eyes shown with danger and hate as he stared down at the dagger.

It was shinning brightly as Harry glared at it. Heat was raising to his face and his hands were clamped around his wand. "What is that?" his voice was demanding, almost cold.

"That's K-Krum's dagger."

Now all three eyes were starring down at it. It was the first time Hermione had actually looked at it. The three emeralds were the exact color of Harry's eyes. And they too shown with the exact same intensity as Harry's eyes. It was almost as though the emeralds in the dagger and Harry were in the middle of a starring contest waiting for the other to back down. The dagger was beautiful. And somehow Harry was drown to it and he bent down to pick it up. Some how he felt that it was his.

Draco held onto Krum's dead body as he apperated them both to a small abandoned school. They both landed on the hard marble floor. Draco appeared with a graceful pop directly in front of Lord Voldemort. He brought his face up to meet Voldemort's and with a loud grunt from his throat threw Krum by the scruff of his cloak at the evil wizard's feet. The death eaters that stood around their lord let out small whispers as they saw that Krum's head was bloody and he was not breathing.

"Explain." Voldemort's voice was anything but emotional. No, this voice was chillingly clam.

"He's a fucking coward." Draco answered Voldemort in just as clam a voice. Only you could feel the hatred that tipped Draco's words. " He couldn't even kill a dirty young girl." Hate was dripping off Draco and everyone present could feel it. "He had her, all alone, he was ready…about to kill her, then…he hesitated." Draco looked down on Krum's dead body as he paused. The look on Draco's face was nothing short of pure, untainted loathing. " He pulled back from her and looked at her and apologized. Then he started to cry…like a fucking little girl." Draco let out another grunt of disgust , "I couldn't watch him, he was ready to pour out his soul to her, tell her everything about _us_ and about how he found _us. _The bastard isn't even worthy to have talked to you my lord. He's not worthy of _you_ or _your_ cause."

Draco looked down at his limp form again and laughed a small hallow laugh that made Voldemort smile. "Excellent work young Malfoy. You have loyalties to me that should be honored…don't you think Lucius?" An evil smile had spread over several men's faces, Voldemort, Lucius, and of all people Severus Snape's.

Draco knew what his honor would be. Voldemort's inner circle is a selective and powerful group of his most trusted and strong death eaters but there was an even more elite. Voldemort had founded a very small clan of the most illustrious and elite death eaters, known as the "right handed" after the fact that they were Voldemort's right hand men and were always told everything about each plan and motive.

This elite consisted of only 6 other men. His father and his potions master , Severus Snape were only 2 of them. These men were the best of the best. They knew every spell to kill, every spell to cause pain, and every spell labeled as "the dark arts" or "illegal". These men spread fear into eyes of even dark wizards. They still were slaves to Voldemort, maybe even more so then others. But these 6 men knew more then others, the were privileged to know a diluted version of what only Voldemort knew. The were told things before they happened and told how things happened after they did. These men had power. And Draco Malfoy was to become one of them.

"Give me your arm young Malfoy." Voldemort had an evil but pleasure full glint in his eye as he took the arm that Draco held forward. Draco's arm was already marked by the dark lord. Just above his forearm was a dark black skull with a snake crawled into it. Even at times to Draco the dark mark was unnerving, but to some the mark symbolized only two things evil and death.

Voldemort cupped Draco's elbow with his palm, all the while Draco was starring into the red eyes of his lord. Voldemort then took his right thumb and licked it. His thumb turned bitch black. He raised his now black thumb, Draco braised himself, he knew that this would hurt, and Voldemort pressed it roughly to the untouched skin just below the bottom of black skull. When Voldemort's thumb came into contact with Draco's toned arm he felt a fire vibrate through his entire body. Voldemort's thumb was sending waves of pain through every bone, muscle, and nerve in Draco's body. He had only once felt pain worse then this. It was as though Draco's blood was not only lava but also that it had begun to course through his veins at a high speed. Each vein pulsed and blazed. He felt as if his brain was full of embers smoldering everything inside but the feeling of Voldemort fire touch.

Draco clenched his teeth and locked his keens, he knew he could show no pain, he knew he had to act as though the screams of the churning blood was giving his pleasure. So he held in his pain and his cries and just locked is eyes onto the wet blood eyes of Voldemort.

And then the aching of his skin and body ceased. It was as though he had just been thrown into a freezer and left to turn to ice. Voldemort had removed his thumb and there in the place were his thumb had been was an imprint of Voldemort's finger. In black, embedded on Draco's forearm was Voldemort's thumb print, dark, menacing, and binding.

Draco was now one of them. He was now and elite, a right handed. Think of the power he could gain in such a position.

As Draco returned to his seat among the other death eaters a hand clamped around his shoulder, it was Lucius, his father, "Excellent Draco, well done."

"Thank you father." If only Lucius knew how thankful Draco really was.

But from behind Draco another voice spoke, in a hushed whisper so that only Draco could hear him, "Excellent show Mister Malfoy. Really played that quite well." The voice was cold and emotionless but all knowing.

With a smirk and wink Draco whispered back, "Thank you Professor Snape, I quite enjoyed it as well."

**(A/N) hey sorry it took so long to write but please review. I want to know it all, (that is what you think.) **

**P.S. Sam I have not forgotten and I will try to get you in there in the next few chapter if I can.**

**P.P.S. Gen I think that Professor Patrick Flakes Torez will be coming up shortly as well, also the grabbibility factor **


	5. chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't not own Harry potter or any character relating to such a man but if he chooses to come to me then I have all the right to welcome him with very loving arms…don't you think?**

**Rating: R….Mahwah ….p.s. there will be torture coming up in the next chapters so don't worry **

**(A/N): SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO POST I HAD A TRAGIC MESS WITH MY COMPUTER AND SHE HAD TO BATTLE FOR HER LIFE..AND THE LIFE OF MY HARRY POTTER STORY. So I apologize and ask that you forgive me and know that I love you all and PLEASE REVIEW! **

Chapter 5

It was odd how neither Ron nor Harry were able to fully pull all of attention to getting Hermione back to Hogwarts. Harry was transfixed with why Voldemort would want Hermione dead as being the-boy -who-lived and the soul person who could bring down the dark wizard Harry had already decided that it was Voldemort that sent her assassin. He was not as worried with why it had been Victor Krum that was sent to kill her as why she was a target. He was busy pacing back and fourth muttering to himself about possible motives. He would every once in a while go over to Hermione to comfort her whispering reassuring words for she was still his main priority, as always.

Ron on the other hand was slightly less controlled then Harry. He was in a furious rage no longer pacing but running back and fourth screaming about Victor Krum and how he had never really liked him. How Hermione was always too good for him anyhow, and how if Ron could get his hands on him he would tear off his left arm and feed it to him, even if he were dead.

Ron's comforting words were also less ..comforting then Harry's. While Harry's were accompanied with hugs and light kisses on the top of Hermione's head, Ron's attempt at comfort was a little different. Instead of soft yet strong loving words he was describing for her different and descriptive ways of brutally murdering traitors. And after each vulgar scenario large amounts of red sparks would fly out of the tip of his wand.

It was after about ten minutes of this when there was a loud crack and a hooded figure in a bright yellow rain poncho apperaited directly in Harry's path. Harry immediately drew out his wand and with his free hand he slammed the figure's back up against the tree next to Hermione's.

"Harry! Harry! Its me. It's me let go! It's me let me go!" The man talking was not fully fighting off Harry but had placed his strong hands on Harry's shoulders so that Harry's grip on his neck could become no tighter. As the man shook his head repeating his worlds to Harry his hood fell off his head to reveal a face that they all knew well.

"Mundugus? Is that you?" Harry lessened his grip on the dirty older man but keep him pined to the tree trunk.

"Yea Yea its me. Are you all right?" Harry had finally let Mundugus go and he was now looking around furiously. "Where's Hermione?…she alright? " As he spotted Hermione on the ground and ran over to her. "Where's the boy… that Krum fellow…have you seen him? Are you meeting him here. DON'T MEET HIM!"

" TO LATE FOR THAT HUH!" Ron turned to Mundugus his ears were fire red but his face was pale almost ghostly white as he asked, "How did you know about him? Why are you here…How did you know?"

" Snape… he tipped us-"

"What? Snape? What does he have to do with this?" Harry interrupted.

"Tipped us off he did. He sent a message to the order, in code of course, and I was the only one there, it was on my duty you see…good thing I was there, so I answered it."

"What did it say? How did he know?" Ron began to pace again as the color still drained it's self from his face.

"All in code of course that Hermione was in danger…." He paused for the effect of silence, "And that the dark lord had sent someone after her…" Again he paused looking around at the others waiting for their reactions, when the only one he got was a look that clearly said 'tell us now' did he continued, "And that she was at Hogsmead… and needed help." Mundugus' face then fell as he seemed to just then hear Ron's earlier replay, "What do you mean to late!" He shook his head around questionably looking for answers, "Has he been here already ?" He got no replay but guessed what the silence meant, "What happened?"

"He died." It was the first time that Hermione had spoken since Ron and Harry had first found her.

"Oh no this is bad…." Mundugus took a long breath in and then held his head in his hands for a while, "We must go to Dumbeldore, he needs to know all of the details!" Mundugus was nervous, but he was also right.

Harry nodded his head in approval and took Hermione's hands questioning if she would be able to walk, "Alright lets go…We'll take the short cut so Hermione doesn't have to go so far."

"No I got us a portkey." Answered Mundugus as he puffed out his chest in an important way, "I took it as I left the order I thought that we might need one that would take us to Hogwarts."

"But you cant use a portkey to get into Hogwarts?" It seemed that Ron had finally learned something from Hermione's constant resisting of 'Hogwarts a History'.

"You can if Dumbeldore makes ya' one…now hold Hermione and lets go."

Mundugus pulled a simple tattered gray writing quill for the inside folds of his rain poncho and held it out for them all to touch. Harry held Hermione tightly around the waist so to support her and Ron put a strong arm around her shoulders. With a light finger pressed gently on the old quill the 4 were transported out of Hogsmead and into a warm and safe Hogwarts.

"I am very proud of you Draco. There was once a time that I thought your loyalties were a little weak and unclear to you, but I see now that you know what to do and that you have become strong and smart enough to see were to put your faith all on your own."

"Thank you father , but to clarify I have never been weak."

"SILANCE!" The dark lord was surrounded by 21 of his most trusted men and from the state of his greeting he was angrier then usual. " Search the man's body and give me his possessions."

His men did as he ordered as a man brought in Krum's lifeless body. They searched his pockets and found his wand, a small amount of gold, and a maroon marble. But nothing that Lord Voldemort was looking for.

"WHERE IS MY DAGGER!" Voldemort was standing now, towering over his death eaters. He rarely showed emotion to such an extent unless provoked by the great Harry Potter, and seeing Voldemort shaking in anger with his fits clenched and pressed against the solid rectangular table so that his knuckles if possible had become even whiter, was not a site one saw often. And definitely not a sight one ever wished to see.

"May I enquire Sir?" Lucius spoke up tentatively for even he knew that to anger the dark lord would mean punishment for even him, "As to what dagger you are speaking of my lord?"

Voldemort's eyes blazed, his snake like nostrils flared out ward and his fists began to slowly beat with intimidation against the oak table. "I gave him." He reached for Krum's limp body and with a long slender and bony hand raised Krum's lifeless arm off the table only to let in fall and dangle over the edge once more, " A very prized possession of mine. He was supposed to kill the dirty mudblood with it and then return it to me. Her blood, that my dagger was supposed to capture, would have been very valuable to defeating Harry Potter." He then began to pace up and down the sides of the long table every so often touching the shoulders of the death eaters that quivered under his light and deadly touch. "AND NOW IT IS GONE…And someone must pay for the mistakes of the weak and the step that we had over Harry Potter that is now lost." He turned around and again began to pace the length of the table. "Who will win the punishment?" 

Draco was confident in his actions and knew that one should never show weakness especially towards the dark lord, but even he was unwilling to give himself up to the punishment of others flaws. He was better then others and would never take the pain that was not his to take.

"WORMTAIL! I think that it is time that I teach you a lesson in the deliverance of pain." Voldemort's face then light up with a glint that could only be brought on by the pain of another man. "DeLotton, will you do me the great honor of stepping forward and removing your hood." A tall man with broad shoulders but little to hold the rest of his body up stepped forward. He removed his hood to reveal a face that even through he was trying to hide the fear it was written in every line and crease.

This man, Charles DeLotton, was either going to die, and be broken or do the breaking of another man himself. Voldemort turned to Wormtail and grabbed his wand form the insides of the shaking man's robes. He took it and turned it over in his hands judging the it's weight and power. Then to the surprise of every man he gave it back to the balding traitor and smiled. He then moved on to DeLotton, he took his wand and placing it in both his hands he snapped the dark mahogany wand in two.

"My lord what are you doing?" DeLotton was confused and it shown all over his face and in his voice. This only made the dark lord's evil grin spread even wider across his face. "What do you expect me to do with my bare fits my lord?" DeLotton was unsure as to how he was to punish Wormtail if he was the one that was unarmed.

"Nothing. I expect you to feel pain and I expect it to hurt." The glint that was now shining in Voldemort's eyes was now even more prominent then ever. He walked over to his servant, Wormtail and placed a cold dead white hand on the small man's plump shoulder, "Do you remember the curses that I taught you ?" Wormtail nodded, he was slowly starting to understand the situation that was playing around him. The situation that for once in his life placed him in control. He nodded again and began to unroll is sleeves, his head shacking madly at the anticipation, his eyes burning with a fire that had only once in his life shone so strongly, and then it had been a look of pure malice formed by jealousy. Wormtail raised his wand and the stronger man before him crumpled to the ground writhing in pain.

All of the death eaters had their eyes glued to the figure of Wormtail wielding another to the ground pleading for mercy. But Draco was lost in the pervious events of the day. The look on his face was one that mirrored that of Voldemort's. Draco's face held an expression of satisfaction. He was thinking of the look on Hermione. And the fact that Krum would never be able to hold her in his cold arms again. And the fact that she would never again be manipulated by his blackness. The fact that he could never again hurt her. It was the first time that he felt the satisfaction that he was doing the right thing.

Hermione was now laying in the white sheets of the hospital wing. She had just finished talking to Dumbeldore and Professor Snape. Snape had confirmed that Victor Krum had been given the task of murdering Hermione for his initiation. Him and Dumbeldore both agreed that they had no idea who her rescuer was and that they were just glad she was alive.

Dumbeldore however was vary interested in the fact that her rescuer told her that Krum had been sent to kill her. This meant that the man was bold and rash and not afraid of taking a life. He said he had no idea who the man was, but his eyes held a glint in them that strongly suggested other wise. Dumbeldore was also not surprised to see that Hermione was not totally crushed by the death of Krum, I guess the fact that he was trying to kill her makes him harder to miss.

Dumbeldore then processed to warned both Harry and Ron that Voldemort was up to something and somehow Hermione might be involved. He told the two of them that they should watch Hermione's back and make sure that she stays safe at all times. Also Dumbeldore made Ron promise not to mention anything about Krum's death or of the reasoning behind his murder to any of the other students, for Hermione needs nothing like rumors right now. He left Hermione to rest in the hospital wing while Harry and Ron stayed by her loyally trough the night.

Things were a lot less peaceful from a death eaters point of view. Even after watching Wormtail brake a man and then take his life Voldemort was still filled with rage about his missing dagger, and now every single death eater was going to search for it.

"I don't care where you have to go or who you have to kill all I want is for my dagger to be lying on this table in front of me before any of you are free from it." Voldemort had ordered the death eaters to search every where looking for the lost dagger, and if it was not found then many men would be suffering from his wrath.

Voldemort had suggested that the death eaters get information out of people painfully ensuring that no information was left secret. He also suggested that the death eaters start their search with Hermione Granger.

**(A/N): REVIWING TIME….YHEY!**


	6. chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine**

**Rating: R….so watch out...joking **

**(A/N): I am so sorry that this chapter is so late…I have been really busy and it took me a long time to write this, I had to figure out how the story is going to go…but now I know so I hope that I can post the chapters quicker now…thanks so much for being patient I LOVE YOU ALL. And PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Thank Me No Thankings, Nor Proud Me No Prouds**

Chapter 6

"GO YOU FOOLS…FIND HER AND BRING HER BACK TO ME."

Voldemort sent out his death eaters, and they began to make their way towards Hogwarts as well as search the country side for the dagger. A dagger that held more power and will then the many death eaters searching for it.

The dagger was old. It had been in Voldemort's hand when his muggle father still called him Tom. It was with this dagger that Voldemort had keep his most precious secrets, secret. It was this dagger, this small sharp inanimate object that was the key to both Voldemort's raise and growth as well as his fall. But in truth as you might have guessed this object was anything but unimportant and to the evil wizard. For if this commanding dagger were to fall into the hands of the light, Voldemort would fall weak and defenseless into the hands of Harry Potter.

Hermione had been allowed to leave the hospital on account that she was not truly hurt and the fact that Madam Pomfery could stand her constant insisting of her healthy-ness no more.

Hermione was now in her own large red and gold bedroom. Being head girl she was allowed to have her own room separate from the other 7th year girls in Griffindor tower. Her room was a semi circle, it had smooth wooden curved wall with a door placed in the center. But her bed was the main point in the room. It stood on the only wall that was not curved but straight and tall, draped in dark red tapestries. Her bed, and all of the furniture in her room was carved from dark oak and had very intricate markings. The wood paneled floor was always warm, the covers of her bed were always fresh and welcoming, her fire always burning , filling the room with warmth and a small glow, but for the first time ever her room in Hogwarts was not comforting.

She wrapped a thin blanket around her tired body and walked to sit on the small window sill in between the two doors leading to her bathroom and the Prefects/ Head's meeting room. Both her room and the head boy's had doors that led to the Heads meeting room. Both prefects and the two Heads could use the common room at will, and the head boy tended to use the room to his advantage more then anyone. Hermione was often forced out of the Griffindor common room when it was to loud to only be plagued with his presence in the head's room.

She was scared and her thoughts were harassed by Victor Krum. Usually she was able to find comfort and joy out of her and Krum's relationship because she loved his ability to open to her and his willingness to listen to her. But she had neither of them to comfort her now, seeing as she had been wrong on both accounts. The fact that she was supposed to be a defender of the light and was considering becoming an auror was now looking quite doubtful as she was not even able to see past the lies of her boyfriend.

Her body was tired but her mind was unsettled. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a small pull over dark blue windbreaker. She silently moved towards the door connecting her room to the Heads meeting room as to make sure not to disturb anyone in the Griffindor common room. She prayed that the head boy was not in the their room, she wanted to get out of the castle without seeing anyone and seeing him would be the worst situation possible. Running into Harry or Ron would only result in them joining her but running into Draco Malfoy, who was an evil, arrogant , selfish, bastard who cared only for his own skin, would make her explode, something she was trying very hard not to do.

The head's room was empty and she was able to make it out the front doors safely. She began to walk around the lake and slowly across the grounds. Her mind was filled with and inner battle over grievance or vengeance, her heart didn't want to cry, didn't want to think about Krum. He had betrayed her in a way that she should have seen coming. How could she have not known that he was evil, that he supported the death of innocent people, and that he himself was trying to become a death eater and murderer. And that was all he was to her. An evil bastard willing to go no end to be a mere slave, he was a murderer and she hated him for it

Her brain was churning through her problems as she walked through the Hogwarts grounds. Her feet caring her for her eyes were unfocused and unconcerned with where they led her. The moon was bright casting a low glow on the ground. She walked through the grounds and the wind tugged at the sleeve of her light jacket. She suddenly stopped walking as she realized were her feet had taken her. She was standing at the front gates leading out of Hogwarts and into Hogsmead .

She placed her hands on the large wrought-iron bars and bushed lightly, they did not moved for her. She wanted them to. She wanted to see it , she wanted to be there, if only to turn around and then head back to her room. She just need to be there again, maybe it was for her closure.

Harry lay motionless in his four poster , his breathing was slowly becoming more labored as sweat began to drip down his four head.

Voldemort was pacing the length of a long wood table in the middle of a stone room. Wormtail was cowering on a small stool to the left of the large cushioned chair Voldemort was now passing. Wormtail's hands were red from there continuous and nervous habit of ringing them together. He was cowering in fear as his lord stopped his pacing as turned to face a large hooded figure in front of him.

"I need you to find my dagger Malfoy, If it were to fall into the wrong hands then we would lose the advantage we have waited so long for and that is just inches from my grasp. If you do not find my dagger then I'm sure that the result of such a failure will be most displeasing and unpleasant to bear."

Lucius kneeled down on one knee in front of Voldemort, "I swear to it my Lord, I will not fail you, I will also bring the mudblood to you ."

"For the sake of your men, Malfoy I hope so."

The older blonde exited with a small pop. Voldemort turned and again began to pace, his hands were pitched with red from the tight grip with which he held his wand. "I must have my dagger Wormtail, do you understand what its absence will do?"

"Yes my lord," Wormtail quivered back.

"NO YOU DON'T, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO KNOW! Do not lie to me Wormtail, because if it is not back to me…then you must hope that it does not fall into the hands of Potter." Voldemort's face was inches from Wormtail's and the sweat running down his face was a pleasing sight for Voldemort. The weaker man's fear allowed Voldemort to regain his former malice. " But as a plus we will then have Potter's filthy mudblood to bait him with. For as I fully know, he is the hero and will not hesitate to save Hermione Granger from my wrath."

The laugh that next emanated from Voldemort's lips was shrill and course, it was the laugh that he used after killing. The laugh he used when killing Harry's family , the laugh that woke Harry from his dream.

Harry believed the dream- knowing it was real. Some how unknown to Harry the Voldemort with out his dagger was not the Voldemort that Harry knew- the lack of such an object had blinded Voldemort of Harry's presence through a dream. Harry could feel it, he knew it. There were secrets that the dagger held, secrets regarding the Lord's strength- secrets that he craved to know.

Professor Snape apperated into the three broomsticks and quickly ran to the large walk in fireplace to floo into Hogwarts. He was tickled in the burning green flames till he landed in the headmaster's office with a large "boom".

"Albus. I must interrupt." Snape slowly walked out of the fireplace and stood in front of both the deputy headmistress and Albus Dumbeldore. They both looked up at Snape with quizzical yet curious looks. Now that Snape had their full attention he continued, "Its Granger, they' re after her again, he sent out every death eater to look for her- "

"What?" McGonagoll let out a small gasp and held her breath as she turned her head to look at Dumbeldore, she was rendered speechless.

"Continue please Severus,"

Snape was calm as he told both Professors the proceedings of his latest meeting, "He thinks that she has his dagger. It is strange to see him lose his face in front of so many death eaters, but once he noticed that it was not on Krum's body he…for lack of better word…panicked." Snape's voice was laced slightly in shock but his eyes did not betray his disbelief .

"Minerva will you please bring us Ms. Granger so we may inquire about the dagger and her impending safety." She made her way to the door leading down the moving stairs of the head master's office when he called her back, " will you also make sure as to bring both Mr. Weasley and Harry back with you?"

She turned again to exit but was unable to grasp the door as it was shoved open.

"SHE'S GONE! PROFESSOR HE'S TAKEN HER.I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT VOLDEMORT HAS TAKEN HER AND IS GOING TO USE HER TO BAIT ME!"

"Harry will you please calm yourself and tell me again what you are screaming about?"

"NO I WILL NOT BE CALM!" Harry walked up and slammed his fists on Dumbeldore' s desk. His face was white, his muscles tensed, and his eyes were no longer an excited emerald green but instead the green of his eyes were lit by flames. He was glaring at Dumbeldore with such fierce intensity that his whole body was shaking. But his voice was forceful and emotional. It did not quiver or shake, but was surprisingly calmed. He was not shouting but talking in a tone that was so strong that you wished he were.

"HE HAS HERMIONE, PROFESSOR," Harry stressed the word professor. The death eaters had Hermione and he was being told to remain calm.

"Harry where is Hermione?" Dumbeldore was again asking questions that he knew were not necessary. He was calm, a chilling calm that makes one uncomfortable. His eyes were bright blue but they no longer shone with joy, but with anticipation and anger. " Tell me what you know Harry."

"I dreamt it, he was talking to Wormtail and Lucius," Harry paused, calming himself even more, trying to recall the events of the dream he had just had.

Ron was pacing in the background. His eyes almost black with both fear and hate. He would stop pacing ever so often and open his mouth as though he wished to speak but he would then close it shake his head and again pace the room behind Harry and his three professors.

Harry took a deep breath as he began to retell his story to the listening room. "Pettigrew and Lucius were there. Voldemort ordered Malfoy to bring him back the dagger that Krum had and also to bring him….to give him….Herm…Hermione." Harry's voice was now soft and almost a whisper, "Voldemort is going to use her as… bait…to get me." Harry fell silent his energy now spent as he slummed down in a chair in front of Dumbeldore.

"Where is she now Harry?" Dumbeldore was again calm and spoke in the same manor as he had before.

Harry sat silent, elbows on his knees, his head now resting in his hands , his breath slow and labored.

"Don't know Professor," Ron finally spoke. He walked slowly forward as he talked, till he too was slumped in a large chair in front of his headmaster. "We went to her room looking for her…but…she was not there, her room was empty….except for her wand, it was still there."

And then there was silence.

Dumbeldore, Harry, and Ron went to Grimald place in order to set the alert that Hermione was missing. McGonagoll stayed with the school and Snape went off to search for her as a death eater.

'Where does Voldemort think he'll find Granger? Hogwarts is safe and she is anything but stupid. ' Draco was standing next to the older Malfoy as they ordered other death eaters in the search for Potter's mudblood, all the while thinking of the trauma that his men would do upon her.

Death eaters were desperate to find Hermione. If they were to fail in capturing her, then most likely their lives would be fore fit.

But it was the dagger that really puzzled Draco. Why would such an inanimate object spark such flames in Voldemort that were usually only reserved for mudbloods and Potter. Why did this dagger matter so much, what was so powerful about it that would force Voldemort to send his death eaters out to take said object from a girl that he knew was presently untouchable.

As a pop resounded around the street that Draco, his father and the death eaters under them were searching Severus Snape apperated. With a curt nod at Lucius and the death eaters that bowed their heads at his presence he turned to Draco, "Where do we stand Malfoy?"

"Nowhere we wish to Sir."

"She's no longer safe… so many of _us_ looking for her."

"She does need to be found, how many of _ us_ are looking for her?"

"They have all been alerted, but _we _have had no such luck in locating Potter's girl."

"Pity**." (A/N: that conversation is a double entendra…but what is the real meaning? HA no one will ever know!)**

Hermione pushed again, willing the gate to open. As if it had hear her inner pleas the gate silently swung open. She began to walk the familiar path towards the Hogsmead gardens.

They were lit by the stars above as well as the small glowing bulbs that hovered above the flowers.

She walked through the gardens that she had earlier that day. The path seemed surprisingly quick considering the slope of the path that led to the gardens. She found herself in front of the large oak which she had earlier ran to. There lying on the ground next to the base of the tree was a shinning silver dagger. It's three emeralds winked at her daring her to pick it up. Daring her to help it return to its owner.

She bent down and let her fingers graze over the handle and trace the emeralds embedded in its carved handle. With every shimmer of the dagger Hermione felt that it was really speaking. She gripped the dagger firmly and her small hand engulfed the handle. As she picked it up she was surprised at its overwhelming weight. The dagger must have weighed nearly 10 pounds. But it glistened and shone in the night and Hermione was taken by its beauty. Underneath her fingers that silver which should have been frozen from the chilling night was surprisingly warm. In fact the dagger was almost to hot to hold.

The amount of heat that it was radiating caused Hermione to close her hands surrounding it to tighten. She could feel it's power. She could hear it calling to her. And holding it in her hands made her feel power that she never thought was attainable. She had been warned about powerful object that seemed to have a mind of their own and no visible mind. But the mind that this dagger had was more then powerful. It was controlling and it had needs and desires.

At that moment it needed to return to the powerful grasp of it's master. The dagger was the definition of manipulation using Hermione to get back to the man that possessed the most power was all it cared for. And that was what it wanted…to be back in the hands of power.

Only two men possessed enough power to control such an object, but that was the dagger's weakness, it could not tell the difference between the two men. It was true that they were filled with the same power but they had many differences as well. Differences that the dagger could not distinguish. It could only weigh one's power weather the power was good or evil it did not know, only it's quantity.

The dagger knew that Hermione was connected to the man who held so much concealed power, it knew that she could take it to him. It knew that she could take it to Voldemort.

But as was mentioned before the dagger had the weakness of not being able to decipher the different forms in which power can exist. Voldemort was evil. Enough was known and it was fact. His power was overwhelming, it was pure, vengeful , and rash. It was used to spread darkness over the world. But it had a match.

Harry Potter was good. Enough was known and it was fact. His power was overwhelming, it was pure, vengeful, and rash. It was used to save the world. And he was Voldemort's match.

Harry Potter's powers were of the same measurable quantity as the dark lord's. They had different motives but they same strength. A strength that the dagger could sense, not knowing fully who it was sensing.

After being thrown to the ground under a tree the dagger sat, waited for his master's powers to call for him, to find him. And a man filled with power did in fact find him. Harry Potter found Hermione, and in doing so revealed his tremendous power, which the dagger could not resist.

The dagger basked in awe of Harry's power, it mistook Harry's vengeful goodness for Voldemort's vengeful darkness. When only being able to sense one's power, it could be seen as a common mistake.

So while lying in Hermione Granger's hands the dagger made a decision. Stick to this girl's hand and she will take it to it's master. It wanted to get to get back to him, it wanted Voldemort, but it was unknowingly trying to get Harry Potter.

While still holding the dagger Hermione made her way through the beautiful flowers that shimmered with a knowing innocence. Her body shook slightly from the cold weather. When she finally stopped walking she found herself standing in the same place that Krum had stood just hours before.

She felt his presence as she stood in the dark garden thinking of him. Thinking of what he had tried to do. Thinking of what he might have done . Thinking of her hate for him.

It was silent in the garden…dead silent. Hermione whipped around feeling someone's squinted eyes on her.

"STPIFY!" If she had pulled her body back any later she would have been lying on the ground at the feet of a large hooded man dressed in black.

"She's quick this one aign't she?" They all laughed.

"Pretty too…if it weren't for her mucked up blood" She stood still concentrating on each of the men that slowly crept from the shadows and bushes around her. The men keep moving in till there were at least 9 of them surrounding her.

One man to her left spoke, he had gotten so close that she could feel his sticky breath in the back of her neck. "Look what she's got there, in her hand?"

"My my, I believe that we are about to kill to birds with one stone so to speak." the man now talking walked closer to her and placed on hand on her flushed cheek, "Our lord said bring in her body…do any of you chaps recall if he specified the condition in which her body was to be brought in?"

They all laughed again and the chilling horror of where she was and what was about to happened to her hit Hermione hard in the side of the head as the back of a death eaters hand crashed against her cheek. This man too was laughing.

Hermione held in her breath knowing that her scream would only lead to more pain. With all of the strength that she could focus on she threw her right hand forwards forcing the dagger to bite into the death eaters sides and pierce his ribs.

The man fell to the ground holding his side, "Fucking mudblood." Another death eater walked to his side and helped to support his weight, "restrain her!" he ordered.

On this man's command Hermione was thrown to the ground as she was hit with curses. She found her self on the ground with her hands and legs tied behind her back. Her lip was cut from her fall and her cheek was already starting to bruise from the first man's slap.

The men circled around her. They kept their hoods up around their faces but she could feel their smirking faces as they smiled and sized her up.

"Give me the dagger and you won't die." It was not a question but a statement that was ordered. The man was the tallest of the nine. His shoulders were the broadest. Through his cloak Hermione could tell that his eyes were green. The same color as Harry's. But this man's eyes were not at all like Harry's. This man's were cold and glazed over by a need for things unattainable by him. He had the green eyes of a slave.

Hermione let out a small laugh of disgust. Her eyes were filled with fear but her face was filled with hate. She spit on the shoes of the green eyed man.

In actuality she should not have done that , for the curses that resulted were of a unforgiving nature.

"I see that this little girl has more problems then her soiled blood." The man was smaller then the rest but as he moved towards Hermione' s bound body, she felt fear raise up inside of her . "_Crucio_." His voice was not plagued with any form of emotion as he spoke the unforgivable words, and caused unforgivable pain.

Hermione' s body writhed on the damp ground beneath her. She had never felt pain more horrible then what she was forced to with stand now. Her nerves were on fire and she felt every bone in her body bend and twist in sharp and jagged movements. Her eyes brimmed with tears that she refused to let fall. She bit down on her lip to keep from screaming. These were the men she hated and she was not going to give them the satisfaction of her cries.

She could feel the blood of her lip dipping down her chin and filling her mouth. But she would not give in. She could feel the boiling of her blood but she would not give in. And she could not quench the lava that flowed through her veins, but she refused to shut her eyes, so she stared into the laughing faces of the men torturing her.

When the curse was finally lifted she felt as if she would never be able to move again.

"I see that you are a hard one to crack." Again all of the men's eyes were on her, and again all of the men were laughing at her stubbornness, a trait that most likely would kill her more slowly.

The man whom Hermione had stabbed with the dagger spoke again, with anger and hate laced so deeply in his voice that upon hearing it directed at her made Hermione's trembling worse. "Give me the dagger, mudblood!" Again it was an order that she would refuse to scum to.

Hermione's answer was a smirk that even Malfoy himself would be proud of. Her eyes were a lit with pain and fear but she would deny these men for all that she could.

" Just take it from her!" A man to her left stepped forward, and as he neared her she felt her hand tighten around the hot silver handle of the dagger. It was her only comfort, her only weapon, her only hope. As he neared her she again felt her energy focus in her arm and with all of the strength that she could muster she threw the dagger at him . But it did not fly.

The dagger stayed in her hand, it refused to part with her palm. She wanted it to hit the other man, she needed it to defend her. But the dagger had only its own goals to carry out. It merely wanted to get back to its owner, and its only way to get there was to stick to this girl and she will take it to the hands of his master. Stick to this girl and it's selfish needs will be fulfilled.

"A binding charm?" They all laughed again, "silly girl." The man bent down and placed his wand at the base of Hermione's wrist, "I do not care if it will not leave your hand, I can have your hand as well."

"Wait Flint"

"Yes?"

"I am enjoying the great and rare pleasure it is to find sure a strong mudblood at one's feet. Besides I believe that she has a lot more fire left in her, what do you say about we put a little more of that fire out?"

"Aw, yes, do forgive me gentlemen, I was hasty, shall we not play a while longer?"

All of the men laughed around her. Their faces shone with joy. A joy that was so cruel nothing but laughter could answer it.

The death eaters were being courteous towards on another. They took turns in their merciless game that consisted of braking Hermione Granger. On man would throw a curse and the others would complement them on the skill. Then the next man would throw a curse and he to would be met with laughter and slow claps.

It was until Hermione lay on the ground cut, bruised, and broken that the men thought it time they took her to face her real fears, Voldemort.

Draco raced through the thick tress of the forest. His mind was racing but only one thought was playing over and over in his head. "Where is Granger?"

Draco stopped to look around him. He had been running for almost half an hour, searching the forests for her. "If I were Granger and I was stupid enough to leave Hogwarts alone, where would I go?" Draco leaned up against a tree to support his heaving body.

He was fit and muscular. He had shaggy blonde hair that fell into his eyes and down his neck. His shoulders were broad and he stood at a tall 6 foot even. He ran a steady hand through his sweaty hair, he had to find her. Thinking of what could happened if he didn't was not an option, he had to find her. Merlin help him, his father curse him, he needed to save her.

The gardens. Draco's eyes flew open and his heart began to beat rapidly again as through he were still running. Of course he had been so bloody blind. He just hoped that he was again not too late.

With a loud crack he apperated behind the tree that earlier that day he had stood and watched Hermione. And now here he was again concealed behind the same tree watching her again fall victim to one of his men.

" Hold her down. Hold her down" Hermione was still fighting, even if it was only slightly and if it was doing her no good, she was still fighting. The men were holding down her bleeding shoulders as they pinned her right arm to the ground. They were planning on cutting off her hand, enabling them to give the desired dagger to Voldemort in person.

With out another seconds hesitation, Draco tore off his death eaters robes and flipped them inside out to reveal a Griffindor cloak. As the green eyed death eater lowered his wand down onto Hermione's arm Draco dove out from behind the tree and threw his body over Hermione. The death eater's shredding curse , instead of separating the dagger from Hermione, ended up coming into contact with the skin of Draco's shoulder.

He winced at the sudden pain but , wrapped his arms around Hermione's limp form and apperated.

**(AN): again I'm sorry that it took so long to post, I'm now on break and I don't think that I'm going anywhere really exciting so I hope to update a lot…if you have any questions about the chapter or so on, then do not hesitate to ask me, I would like to know what you think…guess what? …..REVIEW TIME YHEY!**

**P.S. thanks Gen I love you, you are always going to be the ice princess with the hot man on the ZAMBINI in my mind…..so damn are you lucky**

**P.P.S. sorry Sam I'm trying to fit you in but it's going to take some time **


	7. chapter 7

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a god among men**

**Rating: R**

**(A/N): ok so I hope that next chapter will be long and will fill in a lot of your answers…feel free to ask me them also**

Chapter 7

Room 314 of the Hog's Head was on the top floor in the far back corner. The room was never used. It was small and held a broken bed and lopsided dresser. The room was stuffy and had a thick layer of dust coating ever inch of furniture and floor. The room was silent. No sounds from the rowdy pub below pierced it's walls. Each window was fogged over and only a small strip of moon light cut the glass panes and filled the room with a silver sliver of light. And at present, the room was occupied.

Draco held Hermione's fragile body tightly to him as he walked over to a small fire place on the west wall of the room. Her body lay still in his arms. The only sign she gave telling him she was still conscious was the light pressure he felt on his shoulder, as she pressed her head against him.

He knelt down beside the fireside and with only a flick of his wand large flames filled the hearth. He reached down and scooped up a hand full of floo powder from a small pot beside the fireplace. He threw the powder into the flames which turned emerald green. Draco then took the time to look down at the girl he held in his arms.

Hermione's body had begun to tremble slightly, and her breathing was becoming even more labored then before. Draco lifted his hand up to her face and pushed a stray curl out of her eyes. He knelt his head down and softly whispered into her ear, " Your safe…relax,"

But in doing so Draco's hood fell to his shoulders and revealed his face. Hermione's eyes widened fear. She tried pushing against his chest but it was useless. Draco had a strong almost protective hold on her body and Hermione was to weak to even keep her eyes open much longer.

Her small hands were still pushing lightly on his upper body. He knew that the small effort that she was exerting to fight him was slowly draining her of the little strength that she still had. "Please Granger… for once… don't fight me," Draco's voice was calm and collected. It had no malice or superiority laced in it. His words were spoken with comforting strength and…care. Nothing that one would normally associate with Draco Malfoy.

He knelt closer to her, "Please just stop fighting me." It was a gentle command that was spoken with urgency and need. Draco felt her body relax and allow him to hold her more securely.

He turned to the fire and slowly stepped into the flames holding Hermione even tighter, and spoke clearly, "Head Boy's room, Hogwarts."

Review! (please)

**Coffeegurly- thanks for reviewing and I thought that it was mighty clever if I do say so myself  
**

**sam- imp trying to fit you in but I have had no such luck….but I am trying**

**Fiona McKinnon- thanks so much for reading I really appreciate it a lot**

**Brokken- wow thank you for the complement…that means a lot because I love describing things and telling detail thank you for noticing …your awesome**

**Slyswn28- I love you…you were totally my first review ever…thanks for reading again**

**J.N Cahill- thanks for all of the reviews and hehe and you were partially right with the hole Draco not wanting to be a death eater…but he does …sorta…in a way**

**Elyse- hey so I took your advice and just posted…I believe a certain professor that we all love so dear will be making his way in soon…I have a few ideas..what would you think if I had him be evil? Do you think that you could still love him?**

THANKS

**(A/N): I know it is really really short and I apologize but I thought that I would give you what I had and not make you wait longer…but next chapter I hope will answer your questions….and I thought that the cliff hanger was needed PLEASE REVIEW AND THANKS YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PREVIOUS ONES…YOU ALL ARE THE DIMOND IN THE ROUGH (that was weird I know…just let it go) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is god among men**

**Rating: R…so stay on guard **

**Summery: confessions from Draco and pain from Hermione…yhey**

**(a/n): please review….im so sorry that it took me so long , please let me know what you think….but I do not want your flames, keep that to yourself **

**Chapter 8**

Stepping out of the green flames of the hearth Draco made his way swiftly to his bed in the center of his room. Hermione clung limply to his neck as he slowly lowered her body down onto his bed.

Hermione let out a small groan as her back was placed on the cool surface of his black silk sheets. Draco placed his pillow underneath her drooping head. As he did so he glanced down at his now empty arms, which were covered in Hermione's blood. She was twitching every few seconds and her blood was silently seeping through his sheets.

Once Hermione was situated on the death eater's bed he hurried back over to the fire place from which he had just emerged. He threw the floo powder back into the now orange flames shouting, "Headmaster's office!" Draco shoved his head into the hearth quickly for he could hear Hermione's breath hitching in her throat.

"HEADMASTER!"

Draco frantically turned his head from side to side searching every corner of Dumbeldore's office. The man was gone, in fact even most of the portraits were missing.

"Fuck!" Draco pulled his torso back through the flames and quickly turned back to the girl lying on his bed. " Hold on Granger," Hermione stiffened slightly at hearing his voice and turned her head towards him searching for the sound. "I promise I will help you."

The girl had a large cut just above her brow which was steadily bleeding down her face. She had bruises covering both of her cheeks and her left eye was surrounded by many small cuts. Her lip was split and bleeding down her chin, from both her attempt to contain her screams and the many slaps that the green eyed death eater had swung at her. Her bangs were caked with blood, and her brow was tight and her eyes were clenched holding in her pain .

Draco turned back to Hermione, she looked awful. Her face was bloody and cut, but what was worrying him was what other injuries she was victim to. He flicked his wand and her wind breaker disappeared, leaving her in a black v-neck shirt, that was soaked in blood.

Draco lifted her shirt till it rested just under her chest. Hermione had a large deep gash covering most of her stomach. It was too deep for Draco to heal properly, but he could stop the bleeding. He checked the rest of her abdomen, finding large bruises and several smaller cuts, before he took out his wand and muttered a spell. A large bowl of hot water and a wash cloth appeared on his bed side table. He dipped the towel into the water enough to make it slightly damp and then pressed it to her forehead that was covered in her blood. Hermione's eyes clenched tighter together.

The pain that was rushing through her body was overwhelming. Every part of her was screaming, begging for it to end. Her right arm was broken along with her wrist and fingers , the death eaters had tried every thing to get the dagger that was still clutched in her hand. Her legs and arms were covered in bruises from the death eaters physical beatings. Along with the gash on her stomach she had also been hit with the shredder curse, apparently a favorite of the green eyed man, across the arm and shoulder. From her collar bone to her elbow she had a large gash that was dripping blood down her arm and covering her hand and the bed beneath her. Her legs had also been cut and her jeans dripped with more blood.

Draco rubbed the cloth across her forehead and removed it now blood stained before muttering another spell. This cleaned most of blood from her stomach. Her gash was much to deep, Madam Pomfery would be able to heal her fully, when it was safe to take Hermione to the hospital wing. He knew that it was being watched. The death eaters did not doubt that it was Harry Potter that had saved Hermione, after all that is how he had planned it, and where would Potter take her, but to Hogwarts hospital wing.

Draco began to search her body for more wounds. He looked down at her hands. One was clutching the bed sheets and another was clutching the object that he had been sent to find. That hand was covered in blood. He tore his eyes from the dagger and let his gaze travel Hermione's right arm. He knew it was broken, along with her fingers. But he could tell that the blood was coming from her shoulder.

He reached up and ripped the sleeve of her shirt off revealing her bleeding shoulder. He moved it aside and saw that the wound stretched across her collar and part of her neck. Draco drew in his breath, he had seen torture, hell he had tortured but never had be seen a girl look so….bloody. Draco could not heal her. He reached for the towel again and cleaned it with another flick of his wand. He dipped it in the water again.

Neither of them had spoken, Draco because he thought he had nothing to say. He also feared that she would recognize his voice. And from what he knew of Granger he was sure that she would not enjoy him helping her, let alone her being in his bed. He was after all a death eater.

Hermione, because the little strength that she still held she was using to keep herself conscious. But as her strength drained so did her consciousness. As Draco reapplied the damp cloth to her forehead she felt her strength die, as she let her body relax she fell into an unconscious sleep.

Draco felt her relax and knew that she had passed out. He continued to wipe the blood from her face, knowing that the cuts were still bleeding an soon blood would again run down her cheek. But he had nothing else to do. He worried that if her were to try to heal her major injuries he would only hurt her even more. Also Madam Pomfery would need to see them so that Hermione could be fully cured.

Draco stared at her, she was so helpless. He had spent the better part of 7 years of his life tormenting her, but seeing her now, defenseless, actually dependant on another, he was racked with guilt.

"Why could I not get to you sooner." Draco spoke aloud as he laid the cool cloth across Hermione's brow. "I should have found you sooner."

Draco picked up her hand and gently squeezed it before standing and again moving towards the fire. "Hospital Wing " he said as he threw off his Griffindor robe and stepped through the hearth.

"Malfoy!" The man was surprised, he had been staring at the fire until they were to turned green, his wand was drawn, but he had been expecting Potter.

"Lower your wand," Malfoy spat, the man obeyed. Draco looked straight into his bright green eyes and walked till he was right in front of the man, "is she here yet?" Draco's voice was cold and emotionless, it was the voice of a death eater, the voice that murdered and spoke to murderers. "You know," Draco continued, and at this, the other man lowered his eyes from Draco's empowering gaze, "you let her go. You let both the dagger and the girl go." The man lowered his head even more, now looking directly at the floor.

"I know." He spoke through gritted teeth, speaking almost inaudibly, but Draco heard him.

"Then I must warn you, our Lord does not regard the dagger as just a small weapon, I suggest that you go to him before he finds you and makes you kneel at his feet, that dagger some how means more to him then he lets on, your punishment, if you do not reprehend yourself will be painful other wise."

"Yes I know, our lord has secrets. The other is the girl"

At this Draco shifted his feet slightly, the green eyed death eater did not notice, but Draco was still uncomfortable at the fact that this man might know the truth.

"And what do you think the girl has to do with it." Of course Draco already knew what Hermione had to do with the dark lord he just hoped that this man did not know it as well.

"She is the key to getting Potter, no?"

Draco did not replay to the man's question, instead he turned his back to him and asked, "When will you leave the wing?"

" Soon." he replied, " I must met our Lord before he sends for me."

"Good. Keep me posted if Potter shows up."

"I will see you at breakfast then Malfoy,"

And with that Draco again walked throw the flames that lead to his room. He turned at looked at the body of Hermione. He walked over to her and took her hand in his, " Sorry."

The word some what shocked him, never he said it with an ounce of sincerity, and what shocked him further was that it was the truth. He was actually quite sorry, sorry that he could not save her, sorry that he was not quick enough. At least she was not dead yet.

Draco was still holding her hand. It was limp and cold, and his large hands held her small one completely. Her hand fit perfectly with in his own as though his hand was a glove covering her cold fingers.

He had never told anyone, only two people knew and that was only out of bear necessity. They had never questioned the motives behind his actions, and he had never revealed them. No one knew, and that was the way he had always wanted it. But now seeing her lying in his bed he wanted to give her an explanation, his explanation. He wanted her to know who he was, or at least the part of him he never let others know.

Draco took a deep breath and squeezed Hermione's hand a little tighter, " I've never done this before," he said. " and its weird, finally wanting to tell someone." he took a long breath, steadying himself, " god you can't even hear me and I'm nervous… hell, its better this way," He paused for a while and took the time to rub his temples, for he had a headache that was threatening to take over his mind. He gently caressed Hermione's hand as he continued.

"Well… you know that I have the mark. You know that it was my choice to take the mark. You also know that my father is in Voldemort's most inner circle. But you do not know that I too am in that circle." he paused here, running his hands through his sweaty hair. 'why am I telling her this,' he whipped his brow with his free shoulder as the small conversation took place in his head.

"Damn I swore to my self that I would never tell anyone this, but yet here I am. Why? I have no idea…but,… I don't know….for some reason I feel like I need to protect you. Its crazy I know? You of all people, the 'mudblood'." Draco laughed at this.

"God I'm such an ass. I tell you my secrets while you are unconscious and I still have to insult you." He paused again looking out the window, wondering when it would be safe to take Hermione to the hospital wing.

"Anyways, for some reason I feel the need to protect you, I know what he wants with you…I know what he will do when he gets you. God help but I cant let him complete his fantasies."

"I'm not a good person, I don't do this to save the world and all of the innocents in it. I'm not a saint, I have no real virtue. I'm a selfish man. Its just that my conscious is too weak for me to be… me." He took a long breath, why stop now he thought.

"I am no Potter, I never will be. Its just that I found out at an early age, maybe too early, that emotion is strong. If you can harness your anger, you are unstoppable. But if you let others harness your anger, you stop. And I,… I guess sort of like you I can't really stop."

"You see…I'm not my father, hell I don't even like my father…but I have his features. Pride, arrogance, intelligence, the cunning ability of the all wonderful talent that is manipulation, fuck I even have his hate. But there is one thing I have that he did not give me, and that is freedom……. I am no man's slave. I bow to no one and will bloody not follow any one who can not do his own bidding. You see Granger, that is what a death eater is; a slave. He becomes you. He burns his dirty stain into your flesh and then you are no longer you. You are him. Your dreams die, and you take on his. What you accomplish is not yours…it never will be. For you are him and what is yours will never again be in your possession." Draco let go of Hermione's hand, only just now realizing that he was holding it.

"He haunts your life, not just your waking mind but your sleeping mind, your voice, your eyes…nothing that was ever you stays you after he burns his skull into your arm. He brands you and plagues you with this thoughts, his eyes, his voice. I am not fucking slave."

"Don't think me too selfish. Of course I am, but I do have a small collection of morals. I do have loyalty. That part of me at least is honorable. You see, I guess that I do serve a man. I do follow some orders, but they are ones that I willingly follow. There are also orders that I give, I lead the evil men to the traps that the good men set, that I set."

"Yes Granger, now it is out there. With the skull on one arm and the Phoenix on the other. Your dear Mr. Potter is not the only one to hate Voldemort, and use him against himself.

**(A/N): I am so sorry that it took me so long, maybe if I get some review I will be speedy with my updating….hint hint hint. But I do not want your flames. But I do apologies, but as my excuse…I hate math and apparently it hates me just as much. I love to hear about your guesses as to what is going to happen so o not hesitate to guess, I will answer them if I can (HAHA) **

**p.s. I have a blog of any of you want to check it out, its not that cool but I am (hehe joking) but please do check up on it…it's a ****http/calaburchechos. I really hope that you liked it. And trust me there will be more coming , and hopefully soon too**

**profet**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a god among men

Rating: R…dun dun dun

(A/N): when something is in italics it means that it is someone's thoughts there is a section where Harry is thinking to himself while in class…..thanks for reading

Chapter 9

Draco smoothly placed Hermione down on a hospital bed. They were the only ones in the wing now. The silence was comforting to Draco . As he tucked the pillow under her head he let his hand travel down her broken arm and graze the dagger that was still secured there.

Draco let his fingers wrap around Hermione's hand, gripping the dagger through her loose hold.

The dagger could feel that the girl was losing her power, losing her strength. It was clear that the girl was no longer of any use - for she was dieing and what use is a dieing girl to an object of power.

Draco's hands held the dagger tighter and he could feel it begin to heat. The handle was vibrating almost calling to him. He felt it burning even through Hermione's fingers. He felt its power course through him. With a gentle pull the dagger fell from her right hand and lay innocently in his stiff palm.

Draco glanced at the door leading to the office of madam Pomfery, it was dark and locked. He glanced at the other beds that were neatly made but empty. He looked at the waste basket next to her bed side table. Slowly he picked up a piece of scrap parchment from it. With a small twist of his wand words appeared on the no longer blank paper. He turned and glanced one last time at Hermione and in a quick graceful movement he placed the paper onto the wooden table and threw the dagger, stabbing the note that he left behind for others to read.

He turned standing just beyond touch of Hermione's bed. Draco picked up a bottle from a shelf to his left and threw it against the stone wall opposite him. The glass shattered loudly on the stone and spread over the floor. The noise of the breaking glass and the ricocheting pieces covered up the sound of Draco returning to his room.

As an hour passed Madam Pomfery used each and every one of her well qualified skills to save Hermione's life. Eventually the Headmaster, Harry and Ron joined her in the hospital room. And the following morning many other Griffendors came to Hermione's bedside. Every one was eager to know what had happened to her, unfortunately only one man knew. And Draco was not very willing to come clean to a butch of Griffendors.

While Madam Pomfery tended to Hermione the note that Draco had left went unnoticed until Dumbeldore walked into the room. He of course, being who he was saw the dagger and the note immediately. He tore the note out from under the dagger, and then wrapped the blade in a pillow case from the bed next to him, never once touching the weapon itself.

He read the note to himself once and when he had had time to think it over a little he read it allowed to the small audience before him, meaning Harry, Ron, and Madam Pomfery. Dumbeldore cleared his throat and read:

_Hide the dagger, it is something that he needs. But the girl, she is something that he wants, I know not which is worse but watch her, her nights will now be filled with him. _

The message in the note was quite clear. Voldemort, all assumed he was the _him_ that the note talked of, needed the dagger. Harry and Ron recognized the dagger from earlier that day. It was also clear that Voldemort wanted Hermione.

But the question that every one wanted to ask, but that had yet to be spoken was, why?

As the night passed on Harry and Ron never once left her bedside. Hermione's larger physical wounds were healed…well at least to an extent. But Madam Pomfery was still uncertain as to what exactly happened to Hermione. It was clear that she was suffering from dark magic….magic that had no cure and would not heal.

Hermione's face was pale and she still had a few cuts around her eyes and on her lip. Her arm and leg were lightly bandaged but would heal. The gash in her shoulder and side were of an entirely different nature. For her broken bones were caused from beatings and small curses but the two large gashes were caused by magic that Pomfery had never seen. Her side seemed to be healing due to Pomfery's work but at a very slow and apparently painful pace. Hermione's unconscious form was shaking and ever so often she would take a shaky breath and small tears would roll form her eyes.

But the gash on her collar bone was refusing to heal. It was glowing a light blue and keep bleeding lightly. Professor Dumbeldore recognized the type of magic that kept the curse from healing.

"It is a complex specialty," he was meet with confusion so he continued, "The curse that hit Hermione is known as a shredder curse, but it was done by a wizard that specializes in such curses, " The people listening to him looked a little less confused but still were not understanding, mostly Harry and Ron, again he continued. "The curs was made stronger by the someone whom preformed it, meaning it can not be cured by normal means because the caster modified the curs, making it his own. Do you see the blue light? Well that is his signature. No other wizard will cast the same spell, even if tired it would not emanate a blue light for that only belongs to the man that cursed Hermione."

It seemed that finally Harry and Ron understood. Hermione's wound could not be cured by means of any medicine that the hospital wing could provide.

By the next morning Hermione was doing moderately better, her cuts were no longer bleeding, but she was still unconscious. Dumbeldore insisted that Harry and Ron go to their classes, with the reassurance that if Hermione's condition changed they would be the first to know. Meanwhile Dumbeldore went to talk to the sentars hidden in the forest.

_-Page Break-_

Harry sat in class not listening to what his teachers were saying. It was divination so it really didn't matter very much if he paid any attention or not. He would just have to ask Ron later and then make up his own death sentences for homework. Professor Twrelany was still obsessed with Harry dieing., even more so this year.

_Why would Voldemort want her…..to get to me, well that makes sense. He has set traps to get me before. Harry's mind was running over the note in his head. her nights will now be filled with him. Now that had Harry stumped. how would her nights have Voldemort in them? Surely he wouldn't actually be at Hogwarts at night with Hermione? That was ridiculous…he would never come here. And now Hermione will be even more protected. But the note said that her nights would be filled with him….how? _

Harry tore his gaze away from the window and looked around the class. _ the note….that was weird. Why would Hermione's savior keep his identity hidden? Why not tell everyone, they would get rewarded. But instead all that they found was the dagger and a note. This dagger…I have felt its power. _

Harry remembered when he first saw the dagger down in the gardens after they first found Hermione. Even with just a small touch Harry had been able to tell that it was very powerful. _ The person who saved Hermione must have had to take on many death eaters….they would never leave Hermione alive. Why would someone able to take on death eaters not keep the dagger. Why not take it for himself? _In Harry's mind nothing added up. Who was this person who had saved Hermione. He needed to know. _It should have been me. I should have found her, its my job, I should have been able to protect her, I'm her best friend…. Who was it? I wonder if she knows? _

Harry let his eyes scan all of the other students in his class. The Griffendors had almost all of their classes this year with the Slitherens. Harry's eyes glanced to the back of the room till they feel on Draco Malfoy. Harry and Malfoy had been enemies from the first day of school, but it seemed that this year he got …colder. Malfoy had stopped taunting Harry Ron and Hermione to a certain extent. He no longer went out of his way to laugh at them. No, this year he just smirked and watched. To Harry it seemed worse. To Harry Malfoy had become more evil. Quieter but perhaps more deadly.

_He's just like his father, a death eater. HA and today, he looks awful. _Harry smiled to himself. Malfoy always looked good but today he looked a little paler then usual and seemed more detached rather then just uninterested.

Thinking of Malfoy lead Harry to think about death eaters which lead Harry to think about Hermione and how she was lying unconscious in the hospital wing. _I promised myself that none of them would ever get hurt again because of me. _ And Harry's mind began to wonder to Sirius and all of the times that he had had with him, and all of the times that he would never get to have with him , Harry remembered his fourth year. It was in this room that he had had his first real dreams of Voldemort. _Dreams….of course what is wrong with me…..dreams. Voldemort would invade Hermione's dreams. Make her dream of him, and all of his evil plans. He would fill her mind with dreams. _

It was as Harry was leaning over to tell his new discovery to Ron when the bell rang for lunch. Ron jumped up grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him out of the class room and up to the hospital wing to check on Hermione, as they had promised that they would.

-_Page Break-_

_Hermione lay in the cool grass of the Hogsmead gardens. Her body was no longer able to move as the pain she felt from the many men around her began to beat with the same rhythm as her heart. The grass and wind blew coldly around her, sending chills running up her arms and legs. Her blood was warm as it began to cover her and spill around her. The laughing of the men's voices rang through her brain and bounced around causing her to writhe and shake. Their curses were absorbed by her blood and the more they sent at her the more her body took and the more she took the more they broke her. _

_She thought that she could feel nothing worse until a cold hard hand of a man gripped her upper arm. The feel of this man so close to her shot strings of fire through her skin. His hand burned her as he prodded his wand, pointing it repeatedly at her already broken wrist. It was then that she knew it could get worse, that what she was going to feel would be greater then what she already was. _

_She cried and bit down on her lip trying to hold her screams in. But as the pain grew she bit harder on her lip. _

_The men were all laughing egging the man standing over her to just do it. They clapped and cheered, their voices were steal and fire in one. They sang the same song, they sang of the joy that Hermione's pain was giving them. They cheered because they knew that she could no longer fight them, they cheered because she knew it too. _

_Pain had nothing on her, and as her body tensed, waiting for the man to strike, she looked into his eyes. What she saw was a world that she had only feared. They were startling green, the same color as Harry's. But they had nothing in common with Harry. This man's eyes burned with a fire that could only be caused by this mans corrupted joy in others. What she saw were all of her nightmares all of her childhood fears reflected in his eyes. Never had she seen vulgarity shine so bright, and never had she been more afraid._

_And then the cold hand was gone and a cry of agony rang out, but this time it was not her who was screaming. It was the men around her. Hermione felt the rush of apparation and then the warmth of a fire. Was she safe? Where was she and who was she with. Hermione struggled against the arms that held her. Lifting her head, she needed to get to Harry and Ron. Why would this man not left her go? _

_As she fought against she felt his arms tighten around her. " Granger, for once don't fight me."_

_His voice was clam and deep, so she didn't. She let her self relax in his arms. And it was then that she felt their warmth and strength. She was safe, with this man she would always be safe. _

-_Page Break-_

Dumbeldore had been to the forbidden forest. He had talked to the centars and with their help he had found a cure for Hermione's shoulder. The centars had given Hermione a type of root that only grew in their part of the forest.

It had been a risk asking the centars for help but ever since Voldemort had taken to killing centars they were willing to help Dumbeldore and his cause.

After the root had treated Hermione's shoulder she began to gain some of her color back. But she was haunted with nightmares that caused her scream out and cry.

A full week went by before she woke from her coma like state. When she did she was quite and won't really talk to everyone too much, but she needed them to be with her, talking to her, acting as though she wasn't scared.

In time she began to talk again but not with the enthusiasm that used to string her words together. With in two weeks she was able to catch up on some of her homework, but Madam Pomfery never let her work to hard. Harry, Ron and Ginny never really left her side except when they were forced to go to classes. For the first few weeks Ron and Ginny slept by her side. But as Hermione began to get better they went back to their rooms during the night.

But Harry stayed. He knew what it was like to dream your worst fears. So he stayed and when she woke from one of her dreams he was always there to hold her and tell her she was fine. Harry was the only person that knew she dreamed each night. She never told him what he dreams were about or even that it was Voldemort that haunted her when she slept, but he knew, he knew what it was like so stayed and didn't ask questions.

Not only was Hermione plagued with dreams that made her relive her night with the death eaters but as promised, Voldemort began to visit her dreams personally.

Hermione's dreams forced her to talk to Voldemort about killings and watch him as he murdered children and men and women.

But they always got worse, he made her watch her family and friends be murdered in cold blood by Voldemort while he made her stand and laugh. Voldemort forced Hermione to watch herself join in as he burned Harry and tortured her mother.

Even with Harry there beside her she knew that the next time she closed her eyes she would just see him again.

Dreamless Sleep potions no longer worked as Voldemort quite easily had found a way to get through them. She couldn't escape him and that more then anything scared her the most.

-_Page Break-_

Draco knew that Harry slept with Hermione every night. He saw him each morning at breakfast right before classes, he would come in and tell all of their Griffindor friends about Hermione's condition.

So through their looks and expressions Draco was able to keep a tab on Hermione and how she was getting on. He of course knew about her dreams and how Voldemort forced her to see her loved ones die. Voldemort took great sport in telling Draco details of how he was conquering Hermione's mind.

(a/n): thank you so much for reading and please, please review. I want to know what you think about it….but if its mean then im sorry but I don't want to know about it.

By the way does anyone know a way to get rid of mosquito bites fast im dieing on of the blasted bug took a chunk of my leg and I'm struggling with no having enough will power. Please help.

p.s. who would you rather have sex with INDIANA JONES or HAN SOLO?

profet


	10. Chapter 10

**Rating: R**

**Disclaimer: JK is a god among men**

**(a/n): wow thank you all so much for reading and reviewing that last chapter I didn't really like it very much so thank you a lot. This chapter is better I think, I might go back and change the 9th chapter and make it a little better and more fun to read so watch for my author notes , I will let you know if I change anything. But all you really needed to get from chapter 9 is that Draco brought her to the hospital, he left her a note, Dumbeldore found the note, Hermione recovered , Harry figured out that Voldemort would be in her dreams and lastly you found out that she has nightmares where she dreams of Draco, not knowing it is him of course saying _"Granger for once don't fight me" _ so thank you a lot I love you all as though you were the fruit if my womb……is that weird? Anyways please review, the more that I get the faster I will update I promise.**

Chapter 10

_Hermione lay in the cold grass thrashing under the curses of the 9 men surrounding her. His eyes were green and shown with hatrad towards her. She was screaming and crying trying to force the pain down. Her heart was beating in her head but the throbbing pain was drumming out the sound of her heart. She could no longer move as she listened to their laughing and shouting, her screams matching their taunts. And then she was warm and wrapped in strong arms. "Granger, for once don't fight me." _

Hermione was haunted by nightmares. They always had the same effect on her and she always woke wanting to know who he was. Yet she did not know him.

Word quickly spread that Hermione had been attacked by death eaters. And in no time at all the whole school knew that a large group of grown death eaters had tried to kill her. But seeing as no one knew who had saved her the school had to invent a story to satisfy their own curiosity.

Both Harry and Ron denied that it was them so that left the school with two stories: 1) the school knowing how hurt Hermione had been, assumed that the death eaters beat her and cursed her to their hearts desires and then decided to let her go and them being kind and gentle men , as every one knows death eaters are, took Hermione back to Hogwarts, getting past the wards perfectly fine, and then taking humanity to a new level by placing her in a warm bed in the hospital.

Now that angle of the story could be seen as somewhat unreasonable so there was the other story: 2) Hermione being surprised by the many men was not able to stop there first attacks but in time she over powered them with her quick wit, being the top student in her year as well as others, Hermione had the death eaters fleeing her wrath in no time at all, of course all of this was done wandless because she is brilliant and brilliance needs no wand. Once she was sure that all of them were gone she dragged her bloody and wounded self, the more dramatic the more realistic, No, up to the hospital wing where she was cured.

Of course both stories are completely untrue but that didn't stop Draco from listening in on them every time she was mentioned.

In fact Draco found himself quite alarmed with all of the attention that his mind was giving Hermione Granger. Of course he had saved her life but now he discovered that he wanted to protect her even more.

During meals Draco's eyes would wonder to the Gryffindor table searching to make sure that she had made it to the meal, as though the walk down the hall had the possibility of causing mortal danger. During classes he watched as she raised her left hand, always favoring her right shoulder. His eyes wondered as she passed him in the hall. He found her strength captivating, after such an ordeal that must have taken from her, she never showed it.

Draco found himself turning around in classes more to see how she reacted to certain people and certain situations. Each one intriguing him more then the last. He never followed her, but when she crossed his path he never made a comment. Which to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, was worse then his snide remarks. When they expected a foul comment they only got a smirk. When they expected a duel, baiting him with insults, they only got a smirk, traditional of all Malfoys but bested by Draco himself.

But he was worried. Today their DADA professor would be returning from his month long absence. Students and staff alike, believed that he was attending a conference, joined by other DADA teachers, where they would be experimenting with the possibility of shielding the unforgivable curses. But those who know what he was, knew better.

Both Snape and Draco knew that he had been in hiding recovering from his many injuries. The dark lord had not been pleased when he had let his mark slip through his fingers. Especially when he and his nine men had had her surrounded and defenseless. The dark lord did not tolerate failure and with his new found obsession with Hermione Granger her escape had angered him to the point of abusing all of the men that had, to his knowledge, been responsible for her get away.

But now Professor Padrik Falkus Torenz had returned. Green eyes shinning with a demand for redemption.

The Gryffindors filled into the Defense class and made their way to their seats at the back of the room. This teacher, Professor Torenz, was good, he knew his Dark Arts, but he, just like Snape tended to favor the Slytherins just a bit.

As the last bell rang Draco and his group of friends made their way into the room and sat in the front of the class. When Draco first saw Torenz he gave him a small nod welcoming him back.

Torenz began class by taking roll. So far he had held his gaze from wondering to both Harry and Hermione.

"Ms. Granger?" He let his gaze fall on her. It was her fault that he now feared for his life. His lord was none to pleased with his resent failure and none to shy in his form of expressing it.

He looked at the girl and the way that she held her self upright and the way her eyes held a new spark, one of defiance. (a/n: ok so that may be a little contradictory from the last chapter but I sort of changed that…she wants revenge and through she is still sort of reserved a little she is not that changed….if you have any questions please ask them I will of course answer…ok back to the story)

Torenz looked at her. He sought restitution for the damage that she had caused him. He would get the dark lord to value him again. He would have to show his worth. He would have to give the dark lord a gift.

No one noticed however that through out the entire class Torenz keep his gaze close to Hermione. No one saw that his green eyes flared with disgust each time Hermione answered a question correctly, well on one but Draco, who happened to be watching.

Quidditch was this weekend, this was the game that the school waited for. It was Slytherin vs. Gryffindor.

As the students walked through the halls the tension that the match was causing was felt everywhere. This game caused more tension and hype then the other games, seeing as the rivalry spread through out the entire school. Players were cheered on by their supporters and bad mouthed by their opponents. Harry wanted this. A chance to play Slytherin was always accepted.

"No one do anything too exhausting during the night? We don't have practice tomorrow. You all did well I'm giving you a few days off. We just better win."

Draco didn't use the shower in the lockers but instead the marble shower that was his. He had a meeting tonight and needed to check up on Torenz before they left.

Still in his Quidditch uniform Draco knocked on Torenz's office door.

"Yes?"

"How are your wounds?" Draco asked sarcastically, almost like he cared.

"I am fine."

"Good, he wants you there tonight, he wasn't sure if you would be able to feel your mark burn, seeing as it burns non-stop." One of the many punishments Torenz was subject to was that his mark burned persistently.

"What is tonight?"

"New recruits are being brought in, everyone must be present to witness it." With that said Draco made to leave the room.

"I have a plan you know."

'yes, I bet you do' thought Draco who knew all too well what Torenz was planning. "Really?" he asked, not actually sure he wanted to know, "Care to enlighten me?"

"He will trust me again, all I have to do is pull this off and then he'll beg me to join his elite."

"Really? And what exactly is it that you must pull off first?" But Draco already knew what it was, he would need her.

"I'll give him Granger."

"And tell me how are _you_ going to get her?" Draco held a cold indifference, almost bored tone, showing his doubt. But he was worried. Torenz was a dangerous man, not exceptionally smart but dangerous.

Torenz either didn't notice Draco's doubt or choose to act as though he hadn't. "During the match, there will be so many people around no one will notice, plus Potter and Weasley wont be there guarding her."

"If you fuck up again, you'll die." It was the truth, he would.

"I won't, not even Potter will be there this time. But it will be worth it, all of his punishments, you know he wants her. Whoever gives her to him, will be rewarded beyond thought, and if I'm the one to bring her to him. He will love me again."

"He loves no one. And you don't give Granger enough credit."

"How so… that is disgusting. What does the mudblood have?"

"Unlike you," Draco replied, "she has friends in very high places, if you do fuck it up, they will do worse then kill you."

"This is for the Dark Lord's love. We will win, and her friends will no longer matter, and then we will see who is worse then dead."

Draco bowed his head slightly, acknowledging both the Dark Lord's success and his own departure.

Draco shifted his weight for the fifth time. As he came to rest on his left foot he kept his head down and listened to more of what the Dark Lord had to say. He had been in a large dark dungeon for the last two hours watching as his generation gave themselves up to Voldemort. His disgust was hidden behind his eyes, giving an air of disinterest that only a true pureblood could pull off.

Even the new 43 wizards and witches sacrificing their souls for one man's madness would not allow his mind to stop thinking of Hermione Granger. Over the last year or so, Voldemort had developed a new plan of taking Harry Potter down. He had decided that all he needed was Hermione. But as the dark lord watched her, followed her and studied her, she became an obsession to him. Something that both fascinated him and angered him at the same time.

Draco raised his brow and openly smirked, before him stood the last of the dark lord's recruits. Kneeling not ten feet away from him was the person he had been waiting for.

Marcus Flint kneeled down in front of Voldemort and bowed his head, bearing his neck to the blood red eyes of the dark lord. Flint had always been jealous of the darkness. He had feared the light, something no evil should. Flint is a weak man, which is clearly shown by his choice of future.

But not all death eaters are weak. They may have weak minds but their power and what they chooses to do is a thing that does not tolerate weakness, but thrives on strength and the ability to manipulate those that are weaker.

Flint had neither power, will, or influence of any kind. He had tried to take Draco under his wing when Malfoy had first come to Hogwarts in hope that Draco would put in a good word for him to Lucius. But it took only a short time for Flint to see that Draco lacked nothing.

Flint had rage, which seeing as he was joining in a war is a good thing. But his anger was not directed at muggles and mudbloods alike, but at the men that had the characteristics he wished for. Flint would soon be killed, Draco could tell, he was to compliant and too willing to serve. He bear his neck with no concern as to whom he was succumbing to.

As Flint stepped out of the dark lord's path, whimpering in pain as he openly clung to his newly marked arm the next man stepped forward. Draco's smirked dropped and suddenly pain streaked across his face as he saw Lukaov, his cousin roll up his left sleeve.

**a/n: please review it would light up my life **


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